Rupert Gordon Lochner (26 January 1891 – 1965) was an officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

World War I

He was Commissioned 5 October 1910 in the South Wales Borderers from the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, and saw service during World War I in France and Belgium from July 1915 to July 1916, and again from January 1917 to November 1918, earning the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

during this time.

World War II

He was appointed to command the 1st battalion, The South Wales Borderers as a Lieutenant-Colonel from 20 February 1938 to 14 October 1940. He was appointed acting Brigadier-General 15 October 1940. As part of Paiforce (formerly

Iraqforce Iraqforce was a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth formation that came together in the Kingdom of Iraq. The formation fought in the Middle East during World War II. Background During World War I, the British Army defeated the Otto ...

), Lochner commanded the 18th Indian Brigade of the

Indian 8th Infantry Division The 8th Mountain Division is a division of the present-day Indian Army that specialises in mountain warfare. It was initially raised as the 8th Indian Infantry Division, an infantry division, in Meerut on 25 October 1940 under Major-General ...

during the

Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, also known as the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia, was the joint invasion of the neutral Imperial State of Iran by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union in August 1941. The two powers announced that they wo ...

. He relinquished command of the brigade 14 August 1942 and was promoted to acting Major-General 15 August 1942 and became the Base Commander

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

from 15 August 1942 until 14 September 1942. He was advanced again to temporary Major-General 15 August 1943 until 10 December 1943 when he relinquished the rank but he was again appointed temporary Major-General 25 October 1944. He was Mentioned in Despatches twice during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He retired a Colonel (Honorary Major-General) in January 1946.London Gazette 15 February 1946

Command history

* 1938–1940 : Commanding Officer, 1st battalion, The South Wales Borderers * 1940–1942: Commanding Officer, 18th Indian Brigade,

* 1942: Commanding Officer, Base,

and

* 1942–1943: General Officer Commanding, Indian 2nd Infantry Division, Iraq

References

Bibliography

External links